The Commission on Presidential Debates and Its Critics
The Commission on Presidential Debates and Its Critics
Institutionalizing presidential debates had been the goal of the League of Women Voters, but by 1984 it was clear that it simply did not have the clout to succeed. In 1976, 1980, and 1984, the debates occurred only after a long period of sporadic negotiations followed by a late flurry of eleventh-hour negotiations between the leading candidates and, in an ever-diminishing role, the League. After the 1984 campaign, two distinguished national organizations, the Georgetown Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Harvard University Institute of Politics, independently conducted detailed studies of the process involved in presidential elections generally and the presidential debates specifically. In 1987, the independent Commission on Presidential Debates was created. Since then, the Commission has institutionalized the presidential debates, but its reliance on the two major parties, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, has drawn sharp criticism from people. However, much of what critics find to fault in the televised presidential debates has nothing to do with the Commission.
Keywords: Commission on Presidential Debates, Republican Party, Democratic Party, League of Women Voters, Georgetown Center for Strategic and International Studies, Harvard University Institute of Politics, presidential elections, televised presidential debates
Chicago Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
